Thaddeus had relatively little screen time in Fallout, but a new theory could set up his return in season 2 and make him hugely important to the show.

Thaddeus suffered a horrifying fate in Fallout, but a new theory provides a way for him to return in season 2 and become incredibly important to the show. The ending of Fallout season 1 featured several major reveals and cliffhangers. Those unresolved threads have only increased excitement for Fallout season 2 and created several possible routes the show could take. One theory suggests that one possible storyline could bring the Brotherhood of Steel squire Thaddeus back for season 2 while introducing a huge aspect of the games at the same time.

There are still several questions that need to be answered in Fallout season 2, and one of the biggest surrounds Thaddeus. He suffered a terrible fate in season 1, but viewers didn’t get to see the end of his story. There were several references to the games in Fallout, and a theory building off one of them could completely change Thaddeus’ fate. It would also give him the perfect opportunity to return in Fallout season 2, and he could bring some very exciting parts of the games with him.

The Fallout Show Almost Completely Forgot About The Forced Evolutionary Virus & Super Mutants

Some of the wasteland’s most iconic elements didn’t make it into the show

In the Fallout games, super mutants were a prominent, and dangerous, part of the wasteland. Super mutants were massive mutated people with green skin, enhanced strength, and often decreased intelligence. Unlike other mutant creatures in Fallout, super mutants weren’t created by radiation; they were instead exposed to the Forced Evolutionary Virus, or FEV. Both super mutants and the FEV were incredibly important to the wasteland, as they added danger at every corner and connected to some of the most important groups in the games.

The Enclave, one of Fallout‘s factions, quite famously experimented with FEV in several ways, most infamously to turn it into a devastating bioweapon to exterminate all mutants. During the course of their experimentation, they also ironically created several super mutants across the country. Since Fallout reintroduced the Enclave to California, it seems odd that one of their most notorious projects barely appeared in the show. There was one small reference to super mutants included in the show, though, and it could indicate that they’ll play a bigger role in season 2.

Fallout Already Hinted That Super Mutants Would Appear

A dead super mutant can be seen at the Enclave base Siggi Wilzig escaped from

In the scenes that depicted Siggi Wilzig’s time at the Enclave, a brief shot showed a huge green hand poking out from under a cloth. That green hand likely belonged to a super mutant, which could be a hint that they’ll show up in the future. The Enclave’s original research into FEV took place decades prior, in Fallout 2, so their research in the show is likely tied to a new villainous project. The appearance of the dead super mutant set the stage for them to appear in season 2, but the first living super mutant in the Fallout show might have already been seen.

Fallout Titles
Year (In-Universe)

Fallout 76
2102

Fallout
2161

Fallout 2
2241

Fallout 3
2277

Fallout: New Vegas
2281

Fallout 4
2287

Fallout season 1
2296

Thaddeus Might Not Be Turning Into A Ghoul – He Could Be Becoming A Super Mutant

The serum Thaddeus drank to heal his foot could have been FEV

To heal his crushed foot, Thaddeus got help from a snake oil seller, but the mysterious serum he drank seemingly turned him into a mutated person who was immune to radiation known as a ghoul. He and Maximus thought that because he was able to survive having an arrow shot through his neck. However, there are multiple parts of his transformation that seem to suggest Thaddeus wasn’t turning into a ghoul.

Many elements of Thaddeus’ transformation didn’t line up with how ghouls typically work in Fallout. Ghouls are created when a person is exposed to huge amounts of radiation, usually over a long time. Thaddeus would have noticed the symptoms of radiation exposure long before he was shot with the arrow. Though the Fallout show changed several parts of the games, that many changes to how ghouls are created would be an unusually large deviation from established canon. Maximus and Thaddeus both thought he was turning into a ghoul, but they might have both been wrong.

A more likely explanation is that instead of turning into a ghoul, Thaddeus could transform into a super mutant. It would make more sense for him to turn into a super mutant, as the process was much quicker than turning into a ghoul, and closer to the Fallout show’s timeline. Given the amount of serum he drank, it would have had to be extremely radioactive to turn him into a ghoul. If it was FEV, though, that would have been more than enough to turn him into a super mutant. Becoming a super mutant would completely change Thaddeus’ fate, and the future of the entire show.

Could Thaddeus Becoming A Super Mutant Work In Fallout Season 2?

It could introduce a brand-new element of the wasteland and establish the Enclave as the show’s newest villains

Turning Thaddeus into a super mutant instead of a ghoul opens Fallout to a whole host of possibilities. He could serve as a way for the show to introduce existing super mutants who were already wandering the wasteland, as he’d likely find more people like himself. There were several super mutants from the early Fallout games, as well as some nightkin from later installments like Lily, who were still alive. Thaddeus could even be the first of a new generation of super mutants. Depending on what the Enclave was researching with its FEV experiments, many more super mutants could flood into the wasteland in season 2.

Thaddeus could also be the key to showing more of the Enclave in Fallout season 2. Thaddeus and other super mutants would provide both a direct link to the Enclave and a way for them to begin terrorizing the wasteland more openly. There’s no telling what the Enclave’s plan could be, or how super mutants will factor into it, but they could easily become one of the worst villains in the show. If Fallout season 2 chooses to explore any parts of this theory, Thaddeus could become one of the biggest elements of the entire season.